Hello, this is Rachel. An old dresser found its way to me one day. It was beat up, and starting to fall apart. Places where duct tape had once held the drawers shut during a move, were missing paint. Water stains, dings and scratches graced its top. The bottom drawer had cracked, splitting wood as well. It had belonged to someones grandmother, and had been well used, but was going to be put out on the curb, so I rescued it! Here’s a “before” picture:

I’ve been playing with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® and wanted to see if it could help this dresser. First, I put some wood fill in the big dings and holes, and glued the cracked wood. Then I let my 9-yr-old help sand the rough spots (using 220 grit sand paper). Next I wiped the whole piece clean with some diluted TSP (wearing heavy-duty gloves!) and then once again with water.Next step: I applied Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® in Napoleonic Blue with a big brush. It looked a little streaky (which is normal for the first coat), so I applied a second coat with a 6″ foam roller.

TOP BEFORE

TOP AFTER 1 COAT

TOP AFTER SECOND COAT

After the second coat, it was incredibly smooth. The coverage is amazing! 2 coats of Chalk Paint® looks equivalent to two coats of primer plus two coats of flat latex paint. And it dries MUCH quicker!

Next step: After letting the paint cure overnight, I applied one coat of Florence with a big brush. I let it dry for an hour. Then I took a damp rag, and rubbed some of this color off, so that the darker blue would show through. This is called “wet distressing.” Yes, you can distress Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® with water! No candle wax, no vaseline, no sand paper – just a damp rag! And, if you remove too much, just dip your finger in the paint and dab a little bit on. This paint is VERY forgiving!

Once I was done distressing, I waxed the dresser with Annie Sloan Clear Wax and a large wax brush, just dabbing a bit of wax on the brush and rubbing it into the painted surfaces with the brush, then removing the excess with a paper towel and buffing with an old t-shirt. The more buffing, the shinier the surface. The wax cures and protects the paint so it is durable, water resistant and cleanable, just like regular latex paint.